Canada - the Red Ensign (flag before 1965)

The Red Ensign

Chronology of the Canadian Blue and Red Ensigns

original by Dean Tiegs - 1997-12-21, some additions inserted at appropriate
places.

1865-05-10

An admiralty letter to the Colonial Office required colonial warships to
'wear a Union Jack in the usual place, and the White Ensign, with either
the Arms of the Colony, or such other distinguishing mark as may be chosen
by the Colony, and approved by the Colonial Office and the Lords Commissioners
of the Admiralty'.
D. Prothero - 1997-12-22

1865-12-16

A distinctive Blue Ensign for the province of Canada is authorized by the
U.K. secretary of state for the colonies. I have no idea what its badge looked
like. Presumably this Blue Ensign was worn by government-owned vessels.

1865-12-22

Colonial Office Circular notifying revised Admiralty requirements for flags
for colonial warships and for other colonial government vessels and requesting
correct drawings of seals or badges to be adopted as distinguishing marks.
D. Prothero - 1997-12-22

1866-01-16

Admiralty Circular No. 4,S - any vessel provided and used under section 3
of the Colonial Defence Act 1865 to wear 'the Blue Ensign, with the Seal
or Badge of the Colony in the Fly thereof, and a Blue Pendant' - other vessels
'belonging to, or permanently in the service of the Colonies, but not
commissioned as Vessels of War...shall wear a similar Blue Ensign, but not
the Pendant' - no specific mention of colonial Jacks.
D. Prothero - 1997-12-22

1867-07-01

Dominion of Canada formed by confederation of the provinces of Canada (which
is divided into Ontario and Quebec on this date), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
Presumably the new Dominion adopted the 1865 Blue Ensign of the old province
of Canada.

1868-05-26

A royal warrant grants arms to the four provinces and creates the Great Seal
of Canada, which is the four provincial arms quarterly.
Though the Great Seal looked like a coat of arms, it technically was not.
The Canadian Red Ensign was probably created shortly after this (without
formal authority) and flown over Parliament, but I have no date for this.
The Nova Scotia arms did not look like the current ones. They were gold with
a wavy blue horizontal bar charged with a silver salmon, with two thistles
above and one below. The Quebec arms were not quite the same as what is commonly
claimed to be the Quebec arms today (the arms have never officially been
changed): the top division was gold with two blue fleurs-de-lis instead of
blue with three gold fleurs-de-lis.

1870

The badge on the Blue Ensign is officially changed to the Great Seal.

1870-07-15

Transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory (uniting as the
North-West Territories) to Canada and the creation of Manitoba from part
of Rupert's Land.

1870-08-02

The design of Manitoba's seal finalized: similar to the present arms, but
without the rock, with a crown on the cross, and with the buffalo portrayed
charging. The Manitoba symbol (and those of the later provinces) was never
officially added to the Great Seal. However, this made little difference,
since the Red Ensign was an unofficial flag anyway. Most flag makers usually
added the symbol to the Blue and Red Ensigns. Until 1922, there were many
variations in displaying the shield on the flag: sometimes a white disk was
behind the shield, sometimes there was wreath of maple leaves or a wreath
of roses, thistles, and shamrocks, and sometimes the shield was topped by
a beaver or crown.

I was able to buy two old Canadian Red Ensigns from and antique dealer a
few weeks back. The second one has five crests under a crown and surrounded
by two branches of different plants :

top row: Ontario and I think Saskatchewan (green wheat over gold lion on
red over three green leaves)

bottom row: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and a wild bison for Manitoba I guess.

Don Wheeler - 15 February 1998

The second quarter is probably intended to be Quebec, but it should have
two blue fleurs-de-lis, not green wheat sheaves. The flag would date from
the early 1870s.
Dean Tiegs - 15 February 1998

1871-07-20

Confederation of British Columbia. B.C. initially used an unofficial symbol:
the royal crest (a crowned lion standing on a crown) with the motto "splendor
sine occasu." Sometimes this was flanked by laurel or laurel and oak, and
sometimes the letters B and C were to the left and right.

1873-07-01

Confederation of Prince Edward Island. It continued to use the seal design
it had used since 1769. Very similar to the present coat of arms, except
that the motto "parva sub ingenti" was an integral part of the design and
the chief with lion was missing.

The Prince Edward Island badge according to Admiralty and Colonial Office
papers, was not approved for use on a flag until 1878. There was a design,
with a slightly off-centre crown between the two trees, that made it into
print, but probably not into cloth. There was also a suggestion that the
garland on the Lt. Governor's. version of the flag, should be rose leaves with pink
roses, but that was rejected.
D Prothero - 1997-12-31

1874

First request to the British Admiralty for official permission for merchant
vessels to wear the Canadian Red Ensign. The request is accepted at first
(?) but rejected in 1875.

1892-02-02

The British Admiralty approves the Canadian Red Ensign "to be used on board
vessels registered in the Dominion." Widespread use of the flag on land
continued, even on the Parliament buildings. I suspect there was no design
specified for the shield to appear on the flag, but if there was it was probably
the 1868 four-province design. Most flag makers continued making the flag
with symbols for all the provinces.

1896-09-16

British Columbia adopts a new seal: the vertical reversal of the current
arms, but without the ancient crown on the Union Jack. One thing the designers
didn't realize was that it could be interpreted as "the sun setting on the
British Empire."

1904

Because of strong patriotism for the Empire during the Boer War, the Union
Jack replaces the Canadian Red Ensign on the Parliament buildings.

1905-05-10

A royal warrant grants arms to Manitoba in their present form.

1905-05-30

A royal warrant grants arms to Prince Edward Island in their present form.

1905-09-01

Creation of Saskatchewan and Alberta from part of the North-West Territories.
Though created on the same date, protocol dictated that Saskatchewan symbols
occupy a position superior to Alberta's on the Canadian Ensigns. In practice,
the official order of precedence was often not followed in its entirety.

1906-03-31

A royal warrant grants arms to British Columbia in their present form (avoiding
the sun ever setting on the British Empire).

1906-08-25

A royal warrant grants arms to Saskatchewan in their present form.

1907-05-30

A royal warrant grants arms to Alberta in their present form. I have seen
two photographs containing a symbol that, by process of elimination, must
have been for Alberta, but completely unlike the Alberta arms. Unfortunately,
the photos weren't good enough for me to discern any details. The symbol
may have been a preliminary proposal for the Alberta arms that was ultimately
rejected.

I was able to buy two old Canadian Red Ensigns from and antique dealer a
few weeks back. The first one has the Union Flag in the canton and nine
provincial crests under a crown and then surrounded by maple leaves (10 on
each side) and a beaver at their junction at the bottom. The nine are:

row 1 : Ontario, Quebec, one with a fish and three thistles (Nova Scotia?)

row 2 : New Brunswick, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island

row 3 : Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba.

Don Wheeler - 15 February 1998

I would date this between 1907 (when Alberta was granted arms) and 1921 (when
the royal arms of the Dominion were proclaimed, replacing the multiprovince
shield).
Dean Tiegs - 15 February 1998

1909-05-04

Establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy, which used the White Ensign (without
any distinctive mark) as ensign and the Canadian Blue Ensign as jack.

1911

Although the Royal Canadian Navy was established in 1909, the use of the White Ensign was
not authorised until, provisionally, 1911-03-03, and confirmed 1911-12-16.
This also confirmed the use of a White Pendant.
D. Prothero - 1997-12-22

1921-11-21

A royal proclamation grants royal arms to Canada in their present form.
Officially, the shield on the ensigns remained the 1868 shield for a few
months, but I suspect flag makers started to make the switch right away.

1922-04-26

A Canadian order in council officially replaces 1868 shield on the Blue and
Red Ensigns with the 1921 shield.

1924-01-26

A Canadian order in council allows the Canadian Red Ensign to be displayed
abroad on Canadian government buildings--the first official use of the Red
Ensign on land.

1943-11-10

The Royal Canadian Air Force orders that "The Canadian Red Ensign with a
shield of the Coat-of-Arms of Canada in the fly is to be flown in addition
to the R.C.A.F. Ensign, at all units of the R.C.A.F. serving with forces
of other nations."

A query - what was the "RCAF Ensign" you refer to? Was it the same as the
British RAF Ensign or was it a local variation? I thought that the RCAF didn't
start uisng a modified roundel with a red maple leaf until after the war.

It was similar to the RAF Ensign, but with the Canadian roundel instead of
the U.K. one, i.e., a red maple leaf replaced the red dot. I don't know exactly
when it was adopted, but it was in use for at least part of the Second World
War. I was watching a documentary on TV last night, and there was some footage
of an RCAF ace giving a speech. Several RCAF Ensigns could be seen around
the auditorium. I think the footage was from 1943.
I'm also not sure when the RCAF Ensign went out of use. Was the present Air
Command Flag used by the RCAF between the time the new National Flag was
proclaimed (1965) and the time when the RCAF was unified into the Canadian
Armed Forces (1968)? The Air Command Flag is like the RCAF Ensign, but with
the Maple Leaf flag replacing the Union Jack.
Dean Tiegs - 1997-12-21

1944-01-22

The Canadian Army orders that "The Canadian Red Ensign with the Shield of
the Coat of Arms of Canada in the fly is to be flown at all units of the
Canadian Army serving with forces of other nations."

1945-09-05

A Canadian order in council allows the Canadian Red Ensign to be used on
federal buildings inside and outside Canada until a national flag for Canada
is designed. The Canadian Red Ensign returns to the Parliament buildings.

1957-10-08

by Timothy Boronczyk - 1998-05-18

The maple leaves at the base of the Canadian royal arms change from green
to red. The 1921 proclamation specified that the leaves be "proper," i.e.,
in their natural colour, but this was ambiguous because maple leaves can
be green, yellow, or red. Artists had previously drawn them green, but on
this date the secretary of state announced that they should henceforth be
red.

1965-02-15

A royal proclamation establishes the National Flag of Canada, the current
maple leaf flag. The Canadian Red and Blue Ensigns and RCN use of White Ensign
go out of official use.Dean Tiegs - 1997-12-21

I just got a set of silk cigarette cards and one of them depicted a Blue
Canadian Ensign which is the same as the previous Canadian flag except that
the field is blue. I know that cigarette card designers are notoriously
capricious in their imagination but was there really a Canadian Blue
Ensign?
Thomas W Koh - 20 January 1997

I remember looking in an encyclopedia in 1963 (I happen to remember what
grade I was in school at the time which is how I can remember the year) that
showed both the Canadian Red and Blue Ensigns. Although I have no source
to confirm this, I suspect that the Blue Ensign would have been used on certain
government operated ships.
R Nathan Bliss - 20 January 1997

H. Gresham Carr's Flags of the World, 1961, says "The Blue Ensign is charged
with the shield in the fly." and "however, the aforesaid Blue Ensign is worn
'as a Jack' for distinguishing purposes when at anchor, or under way and
dressed with masthead flags.".
Thus, the government ships used the Canadian Blue Ensign has it says, as
a jack. Now, that about merchant ships in service of the government? Did
they use the red or blue ensign with shield?
Steve Stringfellow - 21 January 1997

In Smith's *Flags Through the Ages and Across the World* he has a
turn-of-the-century chart (pp. 186-187) showing the flags and ensigns of
British colonies, dominions, etc. That of the Dominion of Canada *is* a Blue
Ensign. The chart shows Red Ensigns for Ontario, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and
Prince Edward Island; and Blue Ensigns for Quebec, New Brunswick, British
Columbia and Newfoundland. So I guess at some point in Canada's history a
Blue Ensign *was* used.
Tom Gregg - 20 January 1997

[All refs Carr, _Flags of the World_ 1961]
In 1866, the British Admiralty issued a Circular requiring all colonial warships
commissioned under the terms of the Colonial Defence Act 1865 to wear a Blue
Ensign defaced with the "Seal or Badge" of the colony [p.66]. It further
required civilian vessels in Colonial government service to likewise wear
a defaced Blue Ensign [p.66]. An amendment to the _Queen's Regulations and
Admiralty Instructions_ in 1868 required government vessels generally (i.e.
within the UK too) to wear a Blue Ensign defaced with the badge of the department
[pp.66-7].
However, defaced Red Ensigns for merchant ships had to be authorised by Admiralty
Warrant [p.52], a practice regulated by the Merchant Shipping Act 1894
[p.53].
In the case of Canada, we can therefore assume that it would have had some
sort of defaced Blue Ensign for government vessels from sometime after its
foundation in 1867, but the earliest reference Carr gives to a distinctive
badge was the grant of a right to a distinctive Red Ensign by Admiralty Warrant
in 1892 - the badge being the original Canadian arms: a quartering of the
arms of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec [p.74]. Carr does
not give any date for the Canadian Blue Ensign, although he does record one,
but I would venture to suggest that one must have been adopted sometime between
1869 (when the arms were granted) and 1892. The arms of Canada were changed
to nearly their present pattern in 1921 and the flag badge amended accordingly.
In 1924 the Canadian government declared that the Canadian Red Ensign should
represent Canada abroad [p.74] - presumably up to that point, strictly speaking
the Union Jack should have been used (somehow I doubt it was!). And it was
adopted as Canada's National Flag for all purposes in 1945 [p.74].
We see a similar process in Australia, culminating in the Blue Ensign being
adopted officially as the National Flag in 1953-4 [p.70]. Now, quite why
it was that Australia (and New Zealand for that matter) ended up adopting
their Blue Ensigns as National Flags, but Canada its Red, I don't know. As
a purely personal speculation, maybe the Canadian government preferred to
keep the Blue Ensign for purely official use, but the Australian and new
Zealand governments weren't so fussy? As an aside, before South Africa adopted
the modified "Van Riebeck" flag in 1927, I believe it was the Red Ensign
that was usually used in lieu of a national flag, rather then the Blue.
Roy Stilling - 20 January 1997

While looking through a 1950s edition of *Jane's Fighting Ships*, I came
across the information that it was the Royal Canadian Navy jack back when
H.M. Canadian ships were still flying the White Ensign. *JFS* said that it
was also used as the government ensign.
Tom Gregg - 9 February 1997

In "W. J. Gordon, Flags of the World ; Past and Present ; their History and
Associations, London, 1924." they described a *Canadian Red ensign* that
I had never seen (illustration also). It had a combination of the first arms
of the first four provinces : Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
This was described as the Canadian Arms... Anybody know something about
this?
It was said that Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa's Merchant
Vessels were authorized to use such a red ensign with their Arms.
They say that other colonies are only authorized to use plain Blue and Red
ensigns, but then the give the above-mentioned list of colonies (Quebec,
Bermuda...) that can fly a blue or red ensign with their
badges...
Confusing? I know, I read it.
Can someone help me clear this up? Roy Stilling? David Prothero? Queen Elizabeth
II? ;-)
Luc-Vartan Baronian - 28 February 1997